The regular season is here! With the season arrival and conclusion of training camp, preseason and waiver wires, here are the full predictions for the 2023-2024 regular season standings done by me:
October 2023
Metropolitan Division
1. New Jersey Devils - most lethal offensive roster meshing with the young defensive prospects. Tyler Toffoli was summer add on the trade market. Alexander Holtz is knocking on the cusp of the Devils’ roster. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemez are dark horse Calder nominees. Akira Schmid and Nico Dawes are both knocking on Vitek Vanacek’s door for the goalie trio. Eastern Conference semifinals for sure.
2. Carolina Hurricanes - strong defensive adds and grit between Dmitry Orlov, Tony DeAngelo, and Michael Bunting. The offensive stars are back and healthy, while maintaining all three goalies on new deals with term. Stanley Cup Finals.
3. Pittsburgh Penguins - the old core four. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kristopher Letang. Strong start is a must with getting EK65 and Jarry’s health are biggest worries. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
4. New York Rangers - new head coach and veteran turnover are brought in. Blake Wheeler vengeance tour. Jonathan Quick as the backup and close to home. The youngsters are the BIG concern. Alexis Lafereniere in particular. Second wild card. Easter Conference Quarterfinals.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets - Mike Babcock saga ends; Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, and Adam Fantilli in. Alexandre Texier back after a year home. Patrik Laine splitting time at center. Werenski healthy is huge this year. Goaltending is the worry here.
6. New York Islanders - Ilya Sorokin and Matt Barzal are the best things here, but they aren’t better as a team. They can easily jump to three and won’t shock me either. Lou at the helm worries me for the team’s direction. Not much in the pipeline. I love their offensive core and they have the best goalie in the East.
7. Washington Capitals - Alex Ovechkin goal chase tour. The top line and top one defender are great (but old), and the depth is the farm. Sure defending AHL champions will help make the team better, but this is a heavyweight division, and they seem really broken down at the top. The kids aren’t ready for the Stanley. They could bounce back and that won’t shock me either.
8. Philadelphia Flyers - worst team in the Eastern Conference. They need to rebuild and move out of the Fletcher era. Ownership rushed this team and it cost Hextall. Too rushed cost Fletch. Briere and Torts need the top dogs to relax. 2025 is the year they need Misa. Lottery team.
Atlantic Division
1. Toronto Maple Leafs - the grit factor has been added. Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves up front. John Klingberg on defense. They’re building to fight in the playoffs. Inexperienced goaltending is the worry. Eastern Conference semifinals.
2. Florida Panthers - Runners up to the Stanley Cup. Early season injuries will prevent them from winning the division but the cup is key. Don’t get the Anthony Duclair trade. Spencer Knight needs to step up and take games from Sergei Bobrovsky. Evan Rodrigues is the big add. Health is the worry. The division is strong. Easter Conference Finals runner up.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning - Andrei Vaslievsky back health pushing them down the standings. They know they just have to get into the postseason. Stamkos is in his last season with Tampa Bay. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
4. Buffalo Sabres - the dark horse. Young potential can become elite in Their time is arriving. First in the wild card. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
5. Boston Bruins - Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired. Massive regression to the mean this season. Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno traded. Defense and goaltending are the strength.
6. Ottawa Senators - the young depth players need to step up. Not sure if Smith is the right coach. The stars can get them to fourth in the wild card but not in the top of the division. Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg as a tandem is fun to see from the Columbus perspective.
7. Detroit Red Wings - the kids are not ready yet. The depth pieces are good but not sure if it is 2025 for them. Alex DeBricant and Jeff Petry return home. JT Compher reunites with his Michigan roots. The Yzerplan is stuck in limbo.
8. Montreal Canadiens - they’re going in the right direction, and have made the right moves to look toward the future.
Central Division
1. Dallas Stars - this team is lethal. Cornerstone studs at every position and adding cheap veteran experience between Matt Duchene and Craig Smith. Western Conference semifinals.
2. Colorado Avalanche - still no Gabriel Landeskog, but complete offensive turnover. Best defense in the league. Offense is the playoff worry. Western Conference Finals.
3. Minnesota Wild - dead cap weighing them down, losing good players for prospects that are not ready. Offense is worry away from Kirill Kaprizov. Western Conference quarterfinals
4. Winnipeg Jets - standing pat is bold aside the Pierre-Luc Dubois move and buying out Blake Wheeler. Second in the wild card. Western Conference quarterfinals.
5. Nashville Predators - rebuild mode underway. Barry Trotz making the right moves for the future for his team.
6. Arizona Coyotes - on the rise, especially if Logan Cooley hits. Dylan Gunther could be full time after Thanksgiving.
7. St. Louis Blues - Toughest team to read in the west. Not sold on Jordan Binnington. The best years are behind them.
8. Chicago Blackhawks - Connor Bedard show. Only noteworthy thing. Lottery team.
Pacific Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights - they kept the band together aside Riley Smith. They are prime to compete. Western Conference semifinals.
2. Edmonton Oilers - the two best players in hockey can find another gear. Stanley Cup Finals.
3. Seattle Kraken - the best is yet to come, but this is a complete team as built by Ron Francis. Their development is my worry. Western Conference quarterfinals.
4. Los Angeles Kings - best center group with maybe the most concerning goaltending trio. David Rittich and Cam Talbot with Phoenix Copley is an older trio that may be good or really bad. Western Conference quarterfinals.
5. Vancouver Canucks - great elite talent and mediocre overpaid depth talent. Thatcher Demko is why they might make the playoffs.
6. Calgary Flames - too many guys want out. Vibes feel off here. They need to compete with all the veterans, but the signals for a rebuild should be sounded.
7. Anahiem Ducks - John Gibson will carry this team early, but the team is weak as the top stars are developing and the veterans are aging out. Lottery team.
8. San Jose Sharks - moving Erik Karlsson. Logan Couture is reportedly next. Scorched earth method. Lottery team. 32nd overall.
September Predictions1. New Jersey 2. Carolina 3. Pittsburgh 4. NY Rangers 5. Columbus 6. NY Islanders 7. Washington 8. Philadelphia
1. Toronto 2. Tampa Bay 3. Florida 4. Boston 5. Buffalo 6. Detroit 7. Ottawa 8. Montreal
1. Dallas 2. Colorado 3. Minnesota 4. Nashville 5. Winnipeg 6. Arizona 7. St Louis 8. Chicago
1. Vegas 2. Edmonton 3. Seattle 4. Los Angeles 5. Vancouver 6. Calgary 7. Anahiem 8. San Jose
August Predictions1. New Jersey 2. Carolina 3. Pittsburgh 4. NY Rangers 5. NY Islanders 6. Columbus 7. Washington 8. Philadelphia
1. Toronto 2. Tampa Bay 3. Florida 4. Buffalo 5. Boston 6. Detroit 7. Ottawa 8. Montreal
1. Dallas 2. Colorado 3. Minnesota 4. Winnipeg 5. Nashville 6. St. Louis 7. Arizona 8. Chicago
1. Vegas 2. Edmonton 3. Los Angeles 4. Seattle 5. Vancouver 6. Calgary 7. Anahiem 8. San Jose
July Predictions1. New Jersey 2. Carolina 3. NY Rangers 4. Pittsburgh 5. NY Islanders 6. Columbus 7. Washington 8. Philadelphia
1. Toronto 2. Tampa Bay 3. Florida 4. Buffalo 5. Boston 6. Detroit 7. Ottawa 8. Montreal
1. Dallas 2. Colorado 3. Minnesota 4. St. Louis 5. Nashville 6. Winnipeg 7. Arizona 8. Chicago
1. Vegas 2. Los Angeles 3. Edmonton 4. Seattle 5. Vancouver 6. Calgary 7. Anahiem 8. San Jose